outer_divide | [Video 001: Arrival] Tuesday, Week 37

[Zevran has been trying to ignore the fact that the book found with his gear upon his awakening has been talking. Given that it looks almost exactly like one of the mages' tomes that even he felt would be better not to light-finger, the sounds couldn't possibly be anything good. But the book would not shut up, and the strange place he was in was providing no answers. He turned to a page within it that seemed to be some sort of Fade portal made paper, and after tracing a few moving symbols with a wary fingertip, a blond elf appears on the network.]

Ah, this seems to be working at last and does not seem to have transformed me into a newt. Wonderful!

If you can hear me, I wish to introduce myself.

My name is Zevran, which I first thought would be foolish to share, but upon reflection I have concluded that, should you have been sent to kill me, you likely already know that I am here.

I must ask... does this strange country possess anything approaching a tavern? I confess that I am very lost, and would feel much better if I was considering my fate with a glass of wine in hand.

I am not a man without talents, so if the wine comes with a price... well, let us negotiate, yes?

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It... [the description is vague and shrouded in mysticism, but...] could be any number of places I'm familiar with. [Well, there's no reason to let Zevran get too reassured right? Unrealistically high expectations don't help anyone.]

[Now for her theory! She hasn't got that much evidence, but she has no trouble speaking with confidence.] The rifts we were pulled through... think of them as funnels. A hundred thousand worlds could all feed into a rift, but anyone who entered would end up here by simply following the flow of it.

In that case, we'd need far more power than it took to pull us here to get us back -- and it might be impossible to figure out how to reverse the pull so that we each got back to our own starting point. If they even...

Some of our worlds may not even exist anymore. [Welcome to Verdana, Zevran, hope that cheers you up some!]

[While Zevran doesn't look precisely thrilled, he accepts this news with more equanimity than one might expect. Possibly he's got too much information to process, or possibly he's just got a good poker face.]

That would be unfortunate, as while I do not have many things, even less of them appear to have travelled with me and I shall have to fling myself upon the bosoms of charity.

[Or possibly just bosoms.]

On the other hand... have you heard of anyone identifying themselves as a Crow, from the country of Antiva?

I haven't heard of anyone like that, no. Are they friends of yours?

Let us say that my relationship with them is long-running and complicated, but I am not displeased if they are not here.

What else should I know of this place, beyond the nature of our arrival?

Hard to say. The timeline was recently rewritten, which means most of my intel isn't worth much anymore.

Well.

[Casual announcements that time has both lines and that they can be edited are good for giving even Zevran a moment's pause. Even if it's only for a moment.]

There's your answer, my dear lady. What, precisely, do you mean by 'rewritten', or 'timeline' for that matter?

Well, the fabric of reality is... [Wanda pauses to draw in a sharp breath.] This may take a while.

Ah, and I do not wish to take so much of a witch's time. It is a precious thing, or so the reluctance of my party's witch to share it with me would suggest.

I admit that speaking to someone through a magical portal inside a grimoire is also a new experience for me. I am much more accustomed to sitting and speaking of such heavy matters over drinks, perhaps a meal. Would you join me in one, once I have settled myself?

[Wanda actually smiles at that, just barely. She's in a good mood in the last few weeks.] Fair enough. I'm happy to offer an explanation when I have a bit more time.

Don't get too many ideas about the meal, though.

Ideas? I assure you, milady witch, I shall entertain only such ideas as appeal to us both. It is no fun otherwise, no?

[Of course, the fact that he's being playfully flowery with that earnest assurance means he's probably lying at least a little... or is simply obfuscating. He grows serious easily enough when he concludes that]

Besides, information is far too valuable a currency to risk alienating one who has some. I shall contact you soon.

That's smart.

I'll see you soon.

[Video 001: Arrival] Tuesday, Week 37

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